INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA
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RICHARD LYNN ,ex
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland rmQ\RP W
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 5;(0 $4I
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of lz}llLb1
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a kfRJ\"`
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of w?S8@|MK
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation XECikld>
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. z'*ml ?
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples pND48 g
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have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 2m_H*1HJ
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed zWtj|%ts
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally aP_3C_
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of mtIMW9
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies G:DSWW}
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean >Zo-wYG
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 3;A$<s
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature >]-<uT_
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by {KsVK4\r
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 F:_FjxU
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. RQ|?Ce",
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids wx./"m.M
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the CC>($k"
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest Pj._/$R[/
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the qsTq*G
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Q K j1yG0i
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been KX=/B=3~
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn V(DjF=8
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be #<UuI9
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. s.KOBNCFa
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial R}hlDJ/m-
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become u]0!|Jd0
available and are the subject of this report. d=F)y~&'
METHOD ^Eu_NUFe
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by :v#8O~
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. ]1tN|ODY*W
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a [WYJrk.
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 77tZp @>hn
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given m|mG;8}pI
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables XHZLWh"gS
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile <ZV7|'^
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the "h$D7 mL
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ~T7\8K+ $
RESULTS sSV^5
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for /3s@6Ex}E
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which <\p&jk?
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is C[g&F0 6
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 5c)wZ
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the Xj(>.E{~H
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to Yx!n*+ :J
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Lg b
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the m
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British standardisation sample. QU,?}w'?d
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH FbuKZp+
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD >pnz_MQ
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES.
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It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means ]a=l^Pc(xN
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. PYaOH_X.
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of v|>BDN@,
6
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white $6Z[|9W^A
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an t:disL&!E
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 =uS8>.Qj
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 9T/<x-FD
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by TD%WJ9K\
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater `!_? uT
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically bje'Oolc
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 1&} G+y
DISCUSSION [:B W+6
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in f!(cD80
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 'h k @>"
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically Q6xgLx[
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low sE}sE=\
living standards in China. 9 #:ue@)
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ${e -ffyy
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by X!m;uJZp
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than NXi,5
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & w2'
3S#nZ
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the u$\Tg3du2
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half N]*!8
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 x7Eeb!s0f,
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this y^3,X_0
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ^,>}%1\
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in WVj&0
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). -^0KE/
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US )2/b$i,JKk
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064
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US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Of!|,2`(
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back X=\x&Wt
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs N!Rt;Xm2@
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 6mX: =Q
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be
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expected to increase further. X+\0%|